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Flight 1
Flight 1
Production
Season 2 Episode 2
Air date 3 August 2008
Written by Lisa Albert
Matthew Weiner
Directed by Andrew Bernstein

Previous
For Those Who Think Young
Next
The Benefactor

Intro[]

Paul hosts a party at his apartment and introduces someone special to his Sterling Cooper colleagues. Peggy visits her family for dinner. Despite a conflict of interest, the Sterling Cooper agency aggressively pursues an airline account and Herman Phillips attempts to appeal to the client using an unorthodox approach.

Synopsis[]

Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency junior staffers attend a party at Paul's New Jersey apartment. The guests include an African-American woman Paul Kinsey introduces to Joan as "my baby, Sheila White." When Paul leaves for a moment, Joan Holloway tells Sheila that when she dated him "the last thing I would have taken him for is open-minded." Later in the party, Ken Cosgrove spots a typewriter that Paul stole from the office.

On Monday morning, Sterling Cooper staffers huddle around a radio in the office and listen to a report about the crash of an American Airlines jet (on the same day as a parade for astronaut John Glenn). Don orders all Mohawk Airlines ads pulled. Later in Cooper's office, Herman Phillips suggests Sterling Cooper drop Mohawk to better position the firm to pitch to American, which is trying to salvage its image.

Pete learns that his father died in the crash. "I don't know what to do," Pete Campbell tells Don, who advises him to go home. At his parents' apartment, Bud Campbell informs him their father was insolvent and that their mother's trust has substantial liens against it.

Meanwhile, Peggy Olson visits her sister and mother. People are asking about Peggy at church, Katherine Olson says. "Would it kill you to go?" Anita Olson Respola asks later. "I'm capable of making my own decisions," Peggy asserts. "Really?" replies her sister. "State of New York didn't think so. The doctors didn't think so."

Back at the Drapers, Robert Draper tries to sneak candies while his parents play cards with neighbors Francine Hanson and Carlton Hanson. "He's a little liar", Betty declares about her son Bobby who passed off a traced drawing as his own. When Don and Carlton suggest it isn't major concern, she asks, "What about all that praise he accepted for something he didn't do?"

As Peggy prepares to leave her sister and mother, her sister asks, "Aren't you going to say goodnight?" Peggy briefly peeks in on a blond-haired blue-eyed infant from the doorway of the bedroom.

The card party over, Don hints to Betty that Carlton isn't happy. "He should be happy and grateful," says Betty considering what he put Francine through.

Over at his apartment, while he and his wife get ready for bed, Pete recalls his final conversation with his dad, an argument about dog breeds. "Neither of you knew it was the last time", Trudy reassures him.

At work the next day Joan calls Paul a phony after he asks what she said to Sheila at the party. Laughing, she says, "You're out there in your poor-little-rich-boy apartment in Newark or wherever, walking around with your pipe and your beard, falling in love with that girl just to show everyone how interesting you are." Paul accuses her of being jealous.

Herman Phillips visits Pete's office and asks him to attend a meeting that evening with Shel Keneally, Herman Phillips's contact at American. Pete says he feels uncomfortable doing so this soon after his father's death. "I haven't even cried yet," Pete admits.

Roger Sterling orders Don to find "a quiet place, but public" to notify Henry Wofford at Mohawk Airlines that the agency is dropping the account. When Don asks what kind of company Sterling Cooper is going to be, Roger comes back with, "The kind where everyone has a summer house?"

At day's end, Joan discovers that someone has posted a photocopy of her driver's license with her birth date circled. "I never would have guessed you were in your thirties," Peggy tells her.

Dropping Mohawk "wasn't my decision," Don tells Henry at a Japanese restaurant. Henry reminds Don of his pitch that Mohawk and Sterling Cooper would grow together. "I'm almost embarrassed to say this", Henry adds as he gets up. "You fooled me."

Over at their meeting, Shel tells Herman Phillips that American is "just sticking our toe in the water" regarding an agency change. "We jumped in," Herman Phillips announces as Pete appears. When Shel continues to hedge, Pete illustrates Sterling Cooper's understanding of American's dilemma by telling the executive about his father's death.

Don's waitress at the Asian/Chinese/Japanese/Korean restaurant asks if he wants her to swing back around on her way out. "Not tonight," he replies.

The next Sunday, Peggy attends Mass. At communion time her sister hands Peggy the baby, who is crying, to her. Peggy holds the boy on her knee, but he continues to cry.

Trivia[]

  • "Flight 1" is dedicated to Christopher Allport, the actor who played Pete’s father. He passed away in an avalanche between seasons. In the commentary track for season 2, Matthew Weiner says he was inspired to write the episode after that.
  • The shot of Peggy lying in bed after the party is Matthew Weiner's favorite shot of the season. It is also the favorite shot of Lisa Albert, a writer on the show.
  • In the scene with Roger, Duck, and Cooper, Cooper is eating ketchup and cottage cheese. Lisa Albert has stated that Robert Morse ate a ton of cottage cheese during the shooting of that scene. Additionally, it has been noted that President Richard Nixon would often eat cottage cheese and ketchup as a snack during his presidency.
  • The Campbell family storyline in this episode (regarding money) was inspired by Lisa Albert, who found out her mother was in debt after she passed away.
  • The actors were playing an actual game of peaknuckle during the scene where Don, Betty, Carlton, and Francine play cards. Jon Hamm was the only one who knew how to play, while the others were playing it wrong.
  • The story of Bobby getting caught tracing a photo was brought to Matthew Weiner by Robin Veith, a writer on the show who did the same and got caught when she was a kid.

Cast[]

Main Star[]

Guest Star[]

Co-Star[]

Seasons of Mad Men
Season 1 • "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" • "Ladies Room" • "Marriage of Figaro" • "New Amsterdam" • "5G" • "Babylon" • "Red in the Face" • "The Hobo Code" • "Shoot" • "Long Weekend" • "Indian Summer" • "Nixon vs. Kennedy" • "The Wheel" •
Season 2 • "For Those Who Think Young" • "Flight 1" • "The Benefactor" • "Three Sundays" • "The New Girl" • "Maidenform" • "The Gold Violin" • "A Night to Remember" • "Six Month Leave" • "The Inheritance" • "The Jet Set" • "The Mountain King" • "Meditations in an Emergency" •
Season 3 • "Out of Town" • "Love Among the Ruins" • "My Old Kentucky Home" • "The Arrangements" • "The Fog" • "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" • "Seven Twenty Three" • "Souvenir" • "Wee Small Hours" • "The Color Blue" • "The Gypsy and the Hobo" • "The Grown-Ups" • "Shut the Door. Have a Seat" •
Season 4 • "Public Relations" • "Christmas Comes But Once a Year" • "The Good News" • "The Rejected" • "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" • "Waldorf Stories" • "The Suitcase" • "The Summer Man" • "The Beautiful Girls" • "Hands and Knees" • "Chinese Wall" • "Blowing Smoke" • "Tomorrowland" •
Season 5 • "A Little Kiss, Part 1" • "A Little Kiss, Part 2" • "Tea Leaves" • "Mystery Date" • "Signal 30" • "Far Away Places" • "At the Codfish Ball" • "Lady Lazarus" • "Dark Shadows" • "Christmas Waltz" • "The Other Woman" • "Commissions and Fees" • "The Phantom" •
Season 6 • "The Doorway, Part 1" • "The Doorway, Part 2" • "The Collaborators" • "To Have and To Hold" • "The Flood" • "For Immediate Release" • "Man With a Plan" • "The Crash" • "The Better Half" • "A Tale of Two Cities" • "Favors" • "The Quality of Mercy" • "In Care Of" •
Season 7 • "Time Zones" • "A Day's Work" • "Field Trip" • "The Monolith" • "The Runaways" • "The Strategy" • "Waterloo" • "Severance" • "New Business" • "The Forecast" • "Time & Life" • "Lost Horizon" • "The Milk and Honey Route" • "Person to Person" •
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